Mrs Vernay and her husband live in a flat above the chambers of Brian culsworth QC in the Temple. The story of these people becomes inextricably linked in a brilliant novel of suspense and humour.

Henry Cecil was born near London in 1902 and was called to the Bar in 1923. Later in 1949 he was appointed at a County Court Judge, a position he held until 1967. He used these experiences as inspiration for his work. His books are works of great comic genius with upredictable twists of plot which highlight the often absurd contradictions of the legal system. He died in 1976.